Gillian Ward is definitely the best athlete we’ve had on the show, and likely the best athlete we’ll EVER have on the show. Her athletic accomplishments are as varied as they are extraordinary: she holds the Guiness World Record for most pushups in 1 hour with 1,190 pushups, she placed 3rd at the Crossfit Games in 2008 (after only doing Crossfit for a little over three months), she has her IFBB pro card, and has competed at a high level in gymnastics, strongman, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting.

Gillian is clearly an elite athlete with elite genetics, but she also has an incredible amount of body control, muscular endurance, and mental fortitude developed over her long career and the sheer breadth of her experience as a strength athlete. She has kept meticulous training logs (since 5th grade!) and, as a result, has become an excellent coach as well. Gillian is an advocate for building strength in women, and trains women of all levels at her gym.